Bonded
by roo the psycho
Summary: Through an accidental blood exchange, Natsu comes to realize that Gray is his destined soul mate. The two quickly become inseparable and come to the realization that there are many side effects of having a Dragon Slayer as a lover.
1. Chapter 1: That Can't Be Right

Bonded

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><p>Chapter One: That Can't Be Right<p>

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><p><em>Summary: Through an accidental blood exchange, Natsu comes to realize that Gray is his destined soul mate. The two quickly become inseparable and come to the realization that there are many side effects of having a Dragon Slayer as a lover.<em>

_Warnings: Mild swearing, violence, bad writing, sucky plot, and possessiveness._

_Pairings: Gratsu/Natray and Gajevy._

_Disclaimer: I do not own the cover photo. Dragon Slayers are so cool. Too bad there ain't an ice one. Oh, wait, that's me. My bad. XD Oh yeah, I don't own Fairy Tail. Or Slayer magic. Sigh._

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><p><em>I carry your heart inside my heart. You are my soul mate. I will always belong to you.<em>

_Why only love with all your heart, when you can put your soul into it._

_Love is when he gives you a piece of your soul that you never knew was missing._

_I will always lean my heart as close to your soul as I can._

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><p><em><strong>Spoilers for chapter 412<strong>_

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><p>As usual, Natsu and Gray were on the verge of breaking into a fight despite the fact that the great Titania Erza was in their presence. "Those two are just hopeless," Lucy sighed. The forest around them was quiet except for the occasional chatter of a bird or animal, and the celestial mage wished her two bickering friends would <em>shut up<em> so she could enjoy the sounds of nature. As if being able to read her mind, Erza stopped and turned to face the dragon slayer and devil slayer.

Finding themselves under a dangerous glare, Gray and Natsu stopped their bickering and pulled each other in a hug; a thin sweat coating their bodies as they shook hands and gave nervous smiles. "W-We're not fighting," Gray said.

"Aye!" Natsu added. The great Erza held her gaze on them a moment longer before turning around and continued on. The second she was facing the other way, though, Natsu and Gray went right back to their dark glaring and mumbling insults. Lucy gave a sweat-drop at the sight. "Yeah, definitely hopeless."

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><p>"I think we did a great job today," Lucy smiled, earning an agreeing nod from Erza. They managed to capture all of the bandits terrorizing a small town without destroying anything. Okay, so maybe <em>one<em> building got destroyed, but that was a miracle compared to all the other destructive missions they'd been on. For example, when Lucy had met Natsu he'd destroyed most of the harbor fighting Bora. The memory still brought a smile to her face.

"Lucy's got a weird look on her face," Happy pointed out.

"Shut your trap, cat," Lucy growled in return. Natsu entered the room with, much to the blond's dismay, several pillows stuffed in his arms and a mischievous gleam in his olive eyes. She didn't need to be a genius to realize where this was going. She got out of the room before the first pillow could even be thrown. A pillow fight between Natsu, Gray, and Erza was dangerous; it was more like throwing bricks than pillows.

She remembered the first time they had a pillow fight, she'd been excited about it…before one of the pillows made contact with her face and sent her flying outside. The next day at the guild, Gray and Natsu were actually _bandaged up_. It looked more like they'd gotten in a fight with a monster than a pillow fight.

Happy joined her in her walk, not wanting to get smacked by a pillow turned missile. But as she left the room, she glanced back over her shoulders just in time to see Gray – who'd been fast asleep – get knocked off the bed and into the wall by a pillow. That's when the fight truly began. Erza left the room with a smile, but Lucy knew she'd stay close to stop the boys if they got into a serious fight or began to use their magic. Lucy watched the two boys throw their weapons back and forth and even though they were glaring at each other, they both held smirks and their eyes held a playful and joyful gleam to them.

Two months ago, their eyes had held different emotions; ones Lucy wish she could forget.

Neither wished to talk about what happened during the Tartarus fight. Gray had found Silver, his deceased father, and had to fight and end him with his own hands. Natsu found Igneel, the dragon who'd raised him and suddenly disappeared one day, and watched him die before his very eyes.

Natsu had snapped at that and had gone on a flaming rampage, and no one could blame him. He'd spent so many years looking for his long lost father, only to watch him be killed by another dragon. The rage and heartbreak and pain in his screams had broke everyones heart. The way Gray had suddenly began to seclude himself from everyone else made the guild worry, and they desperately tried to get him to open up and talk about it. But he kept his mouth shut and his emotions in, just like he always did. Natsu was the same, refusing to talk about Igneel's death to anyone, even Happy.

Two of the strongest mages in the guild had their hearts crushed during that fight.

Then, suddenly, three weeks ago they sorta just snapped out of their gloom. They fought each other more, though, and it wasn't hard to tell they were taking out all their pent up anger and rage and sorrow out on each other with playful banters and sparring. Their eyes still held an unimaginable sadness to them when they thought no one was looking, and Lucy wished nothing more than for the pain in their hearts to fade away and disappear.

But that would not happen.

How long had it been since her own father passed and her heart still throbbed at the memory of him? She hadn't been very close to her father, so she could only imagine what Natsu and Gray had felt at losing their fathers _again_. She gave a sigh, her gaze softening as she left the building. She hoped the two mages would be able to overcome the pain that grew everyday in their hearts.

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><p>The pillow fight hadn't lasted very long, both the fire and ice mage had tired of it before it could escalate into a battle where bandages would be needed afterwards. Gray, though, did have a rather dark bruise on his shoulder from when he was knocked into the wall unexpectedly and tried his best not to raise his arm above his head or move the hurting joint. Natsu, on the other hand, was perfectly fine except for the fact he accidentally bent one of his fingers back a little too far while catching a pillow and found the joint was a little sore the next day.<p>

"Serves you guys right for having such fierce pillow fights," Lucy had said. "Really, a normal person would die in one of your battles." She received no answer, and the worry in the back of her mind began to grow. Looking back, she was relieved to see they were only face to face growling insults at each other. Giving a sigh, she walked over to the boys and was about to try and break them up when her foot caught on a rock and she began to fall forward.

"Well if you weren't such a wuss, then you'd–"

"You calling me a wuss, you cry baby?! I'll kick your ass!"

"Yeah? Bring it on, bastard!"

"Oh, you're gonna–" Something hard smacked into Gray's back, causing him to pitch forward into Natsu. The pinkette, who'd been in the middle of a yell, snapped his mouth shut when Gray was thrown into him, and he felt the taste of iron enter his mouth. Both mages fell hard to the ground with Gray on top of Natsu. The ice mage gave a curse as he leaned up onto his elbow, using his free hand to touch his bleeding lip. Natsu did the same, and he realized that when he shut his mouth, he'd cut both his _and_ Gray's lips.

Meaning…they'd accidentally kissed for a moment.

He could taste his own blood run down his throat, and a sweeter tasting liquid mixed with it. It took him a moment to figure out that Gray's blood had mixed with his own during that quick kiss. "I got your blood in my mouth," Gray shivered, the thought slightly disturbing him. His own blood was one thing, another person's blood going down his throat was another. Although, he had to admit, Natsu's blood tasted fairly…sweet.

He pushed himself off Natsu and spat the remaining blood out, wiping his mouth and giving a light hiss when the back of his hand came in contact with his injured lip. He chanced a glance at the pinkette and noticed Natsu hadn't moved; his fingers still at his bleeding lip and his wide eyes staring at the sky above. The ice mage gave a worried look. "Natsu?"

But the dragon slayer was lost in his own mind. The moment his and Gray's blood mixed down his throat, he could _see_ it. His body reacted to the instant fact, and Natsu was ecstatic beyond words that he found _the one_. Gray was his mate. He could tell through the blood; a flash of what the future held for him appeared in his mind, him and Gray holding each other close. Igneel told him once that a dragon can tell who their soul mate is through blood.

And an _exchanging_ of blood between soul mates meant they were officially bonded as a couple.

They were mates for life.

But then another thought occurred to him. Gray, of all people, was his soul mate? That couldn't be right, right? Did the ice mage even _like_ guys? He secretly loved Gray, he couldn't remember when the feelings first started though. Maybe since the Clover incident? Possibly before that? He loved Gray, he loved to be around the mage. It was probably the reason why he'd been hanging around Gray for the last few weeks. He knew Gray was experiencing the same pain of loss as he was. He could trust him, believe in him, and it comforted him knowing he wasn't truly alone in his sorrow.

But the thought of Gray pushing him away because he harbored special feelings for the ice mage… The thought of being rejected and pushed away, having to watch the mage from afar… That actually hurt. It made his heart throb painfully, and he nearly let out a groan of pain at just the mere _thought_ of it. Why? Why did a little thought like that suddenly hurt so…

Because they had just bonded by accident.

Natsu gulped. Once a dragon bonded with its soul mate, staying away from them was a hard thing to do. And he had to pretend everything was _normal_ from now on? He let out a nervous chuckle, realizing that wasn't going to be an easy thing to do. Dragons were also very territorial of there mates, and very, _very_ protective. But there was a good reason they were protective. Because when a dragon's mate dies, they–

"–tsu! Hey, answer me!" Snapping out of his thoughts, he saw Gray leaning over him with a look of concern. Lucy, Happy, and Erza also stood over him also looking worried. "Hey, are you alright? You were zoning out pretty hard."

"Y-Yeah," Natsu finally said, pushing himself onto his feet and trying not to make eye contact with Gray. "I'm fine. Sorry, just a little tired I guess." He started to walk once again, feeling the ice mage's eyes watching him closely. He resisted the urge to turn around and look at his soul mate. The urge to stay by Gray's side nagged at his mind but he pushed it down. He had to keep his feelings hidden, he rather stay as a friend than to be forced to watch from afar.

Now, all he had to do for the rest of his life was push down his dragon instincts, make sure Gray stayed alive, and hide his feelings from the ice mage all at the same time.

Yeah, piece of fucking cake.

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><p><strong>Three stories at once is my lucky number. I will not be adding any more stories until these three are done! …Unless it's a one-shot. Anyway, hope you guys like this first chapter. And can you guys help me out? I don't know whether or not to put my story Possessive either after Tartarus or after the Magic Games, and right now the vote is at 3 and 3. And I can't update it until I decide. So please help me out on that?<strong>

**And please review on this! I'll try to update soon! More will be explained about dragons and their soul mates in later chapters. I intend to add things about them that most people don't in their stories. :]**

_~»roo the ice elemental psycho«_


	2. Chapter 2: It'll Kill You

Bonded

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><p>Chapter Two: It'll Kill You<p>

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><p><em>I carry your heart inside my heart. You are my soul mate. I will always belong to you.<em>

_Why only love with all your heart, when you can put your soul into it._

_Love is when he gives you a piece of your soul that you never knew was missing._

_I will always lean my heart as close to your soul as I can._

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><p>Not even a week had passed since their accidental bonding and Natsu was pretty sure he was going to snap any moment. The constant need for him to be at Gray's side – or at least keep the ice mage within his sight – pulled at his mind every waking moment, and he had to fight down the urge to rip Juvia's head off every time she got a <em>liiiitle<em> too close to the raven. It left his body constantly tense, and he was pretty sure he'd bit his tongue in the last seven days more than he had in his entire life. He was even starting to _lose sleep_ over it; becoming restless when it came time to catch a few Z's.

Staying away from Gray while he was so close was hard on Natsu. So it came as a relief when the ice mage announced he'd be taking a mission by himself. The need to be at Gray's side never left, but he found himself relaxing a little now that the scent of winter and pine wasn't constantly distracting his thoughts. He rested his head on the table where he sat alone; Lucy and Erza were on their own mission and Happy decided to spend the day with Wendy and Carla at the park.

But then another thought ate at his mind; who knew how far away Gray was? The ice mage didn't say where his mission was taking him or how long he'd be gone. To be so far away from his soul mate so long, just the thought of it made his inner dragon squirm. _'I just can't win,'_ Natsu thought. _'My inner dragon wants me to be by his side no matter what. If he's across the room, I have to get closer. If he's across the damn continent, I __**have**__ to be with him.'_ He gave a sigh. He thought Gray leaving would make it be easier on him, and it was, but just barely.

The bench he sat on shook a little and he glanced over to see Gajeel staring at him with attentive eyes. "What's got you in such a mood?" the iron dragon slayer asked. He knew this wasn't anything connected to Igneel, this was more of a paranoid/tense state of mind rather than a pained/sorrowful one.

"Nothin'," Natsu mumbled out, causing the other dragon slayer to raise an eyebrow. Well, if _that_ wasn't a lie. The pinkette let out a small sigh but his muscles refused to relax. He was pretty damn sure he wouldn't be able to keep it up much longer, holding down his dragon instincts was more exhausting than he originally thought it would be.

"Look, I don't know about you, but I don't think it's healthy to be doing what you're doing," Gajeel said, his voice low and tone serious. Natsu glanced over at him once more, his eyes narrowing slightly. Green clashed against red, and neither refused to look away. "You're going to die if you keep at this," the other continued. "Repressing your instincts about a mate for too long can actually kill you." Green eyes widened and a spark of horror entered them. "Get what I'm saying?"

"Y-Yeah, I do," Natsu replied.

"Good," Gajeel grunted, getting to his feet and going over to be by Levy once more. The iron dragon slayer's words echoed in Natsu's mind. _Repressing your instincts about a mate for too long can actually kill you._ He swallowed hard. _**Kill**__ you_. No, he couldn't let that happen. Not now.

He came to a decision. The moment Gray stepped through the guild's doors, he'd have to pull the ice mage aside and tell him _everything_.

Even if it meant he faced rejection.

He ran his hand through his pink hair, waiting anxiously for the ice mage to return.

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><p>"Thank you so much!" The man bowed deeply and Gray simply shook his head. Honestly, he would take missions just to see how happy the requester was after the request was completed. To him, the money was an extra bonus. The main reward? The happy smiles. It made him feel like he was slowly changing the world one person at a time. He distantly wondered if all the other mages at Fairy Tail felt the same way and he had a feeling they did.<p>

"It's what we're here for," he answered. "Just make sure you don't pick up any other strange things, okay?"

"Yes, of course," the man smiled, making Gray's smile grow. After the man gave him the reward, Gray walked through the small town and glanced at the stores in hopes of finding something worth buying. He stood in front of a souvenir shop for a moment, contemplating whether or not he should go in when he felt eyes on him. Not just any eyes; a pair of familiar olive green eyes. _'Natsu?'_

Turning, he examined the street and each person that went about their own business. Not a single one of them was Natsu. He gave a frown. He knew when Natsu was looking at him, those eyes held a presence that was different than everyone else's. And he was _positive_ he just felt those green eyes fall on him. "Maybe I'm just being paranoid," he mumbled. _'Or hopeful.'_ He shook his head at that last thought and decided he no longer felt like buying something. He wanted nothing more now than to get back to Fairy Tail.

When it came time to leave the town, he stopped at the forked pathways. One would lead him to the train station he'd got off of earlier that morning, the other was an old route he used to take when his missions called for him to come out this far. Looking back and forth at the two paths for a moment, he made his decision and took the right one.

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><p>Natsu was starting to feel impatient. Not that he was really a patient person to begin with, but he felt even less patient than usual. He shook his leg as he gave a sigh; his fingers tapping the surface of the wooden table to an quick rhythm. <em>Taptaptaptap taptap taptaptaptap taptaptaptap taptaptap taptap taptaptaptaptaptap taptaptap–<em>

"If you're that bored than just go back to your house or take a damn mission!" Gajeel yelled from across the room. His outburst had startled Levy, and she glanced up at her dragon slayer to see a look of annoyance on his face. Looking back to see where his focus was, she wasn't all that surprised to see his line of sight was on Natsu.

"I don't wanna leave the guild!" Natsu snapped back, throwing a glare in his direction. "I'll have you know I rather like it here!"

"Then sit there _quietly!_" Levy blinked. _'Quietly? I didn't hear Natsu make any noise though.'_ Dragon slayer hearing, she figured. They had advanced senses after all.

"Fine!" Natsu snapped, resting his head on his hand and giving a harsh sigh. The fingers that had been tapping the table curled into a fist. Finally Gajeel took his eyes off the pinkette and focused back on what Levy had been showing him a moment ago. Even though Gajeel's face was focused on the book before him, Levy could see worry in his red eyes.

"Is everything alright?"

"Just dragon slayer business is all," the male replied.

"Natsu's been acting kind of strange lately… Is he okay?"

"…Yeah. He is." Giving a worried glance at the pinkette across the room, Levy silently hoped the fire dragon slayer would be okay before turning back to her task at hand.

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><p>Gray shoved his hands into his pockets as he – viciously – kicked a pebble before him and gave a curse under his breath. The feisty pinkette wouldn't leave his mind, no matter how hard to tried to dismiss the thoughts. That bright grin would haunt him, he could swear he heard that familiar laugh echo everywhere he went, and those green eyes were always looking at him. Suddenly, over the course of seven days, his entire world revolved around Natsu.<p>

He'd liked the pinkette before, his feelings having started during the Clover incident. And ever so slowly – especially after the Galuna Island mission – those feelings began to grow until he was pretty that he no longer liked Natsu, but _loved_ him. But now everything associated itself to the pinkette on a subconscious level. For example; he looked at the bushes that surrounded the path he was walking on and immediately thought of the one time Natsu had pounced on him while he was trying to look for a bathroom. Looking at the trees, he remembered having a climbing contest with the pinkette. Glancing at the dirt, the memory of the time they had rolled in dirt to try and camouflage themselves from Erza popped into his mind.

_Everything was connected to Natsu now._

And it was seriously starting to weird Gray out. It was as if someone put a curse on him. But with his thoughts on Natsu, he couldn't help but wonder what'd bothering the dragon slayer for the past seven days. He wouldn't come too close the Gray; wouldn't start any fights, only mild arguments; always seemd so tense; and he was beginning to lose sleep. Gray hadn't failed to miss the unusually dark skin under those hypnotizing olive eyes.

He knew one thing, it had nothing to do with Igneel. No, it was revolved around himself, and Gray wanted to know _why_. _'Could it…'_ He shook his head. Nah, that couldn't be it. But the timeline matched, Natsu started to act weird after it happened.

"_Could_ it have to do with us accidentally kissing?" he mused, his brows pulling together in confusion and slight hurt. The thought of Natsu pushing him away and calling him disgusting made his heart throb painfully. He knew Natsu didn't like him back, but did he like guys? Gray doubted it. But the more Gray thought about it, the more it _did_ seem like Natsu was gay. He didn't exactly look like someone who'd woo a lady or sweep a girl off her feet. But, then again, Gajeel didn't look that type either and he was now happily together with Levy. And okay, maybe he didn't _woo_ Levy, but that wasn't the point.

Thinking about it made Gray's head ache and he gave a harsh sigh. Why did things have to be so complicated when it came to Natsu?

A sudden presence to his right had him ducking in time to dodge a dagger before it could bury itself in his back, but nine more daggers came at him from the trees and bushes around him. He had no time to summon a shield and did his best to dodge them all. One of them nicked his neck and a line of blood appeared on the skin. Luckily it wasn't deep and it wouldn't scar. Another dagger brushed against his pants and one more clipped the edges of his bangs. His eyes moved from tree to tree, bush to bush, counting in his head. _'Eleven, twelve… Twelve enemies.'_

A man around the age of twenty-seven jumped out from behind one of the bushes and ran towards the ice mage while daggers still continued to fly. _'Are they nuts? They're gonna kill their own comrade if they don't stop firing!'_ But amazingly, the man managed to dodge the daggers as he threw out a fist that Gray barely managed to doge. Another man jumped from the tree above, a dagger in his hand narrowly missing the ice mage's arm. The ice mage finally understood the enemy's plan. The two men before him would try to get him to walk into an oncoming dagger, keeping themselves out of the line of fire while still keeping their target busy.

Gray was having a hard time dodging all the daggers while also dodging the attacks of the two men before him. It took all of his reflexes to miss all the attacks, but it continuously left him on the defense. He felt his back hit the trunk of a tree and crouched down in time to miss a punch aimed for his face. He dove to the side so he was no longer cornered, but the action left him open and unable to doge for a moment.

And that's all the enemy needed.

A stabbing pain erupted from his side as he forced himself to his feet, and glancing down he was met with the sight of a dagger buried hilt-deep in his side right over an old scar. He grabbed the weapon and pulled it out, giving a groan of pain as blood gushed from the wound. He stumbled forward and another dagger left a cut running across one of his thighs. He gave a hiss and quickly brought his hands together.

"Ice Make: Cocoon!" A cocoon of ice with spikes jutting outwards surrounded him just in time, stopping the daggers before anymore could injure him. He could feel blood run down his side and leg, and he gave a curse as he iced the wounds to stop the bleeding. His vision blurred for a moment and he gave another curse. _'Poisoned daggers?'_ He gave a curse and felt himself fall to a knee. His body began to numb and he grit his teeth. Paralyzation. This wasn't good.

He glanced outside the ice and saw the enemies had finally shown themselves. They looked like mercenaries from what he could tell. They surrounded the cocoon and began to attack it.

It wouldn't be long before they broke through the protecting ice.

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><p><strong>Unbelievable… Guys, this gotta be a record. I wrote chapter one on the 5th, and I finished chapter two and three on the NIGHT of the 5th. Three chapters written in one day. Yep, that's a record for me. The third one shall be posted soon! And thank you guys for the reviews! It means a lot and it totally made my week! :D Hope you review this chapter as well! Thank you!<strong>

**And sorry I can't respond to reviews yet. I don't get wifi too often. But I shall try my best to reply when I can!**

**P.S. Sorry if this chapter sucked. I FAIL at writing fight scenes. My apologies! *bows***

_~»roo the ice elemental psycho«_


	3. Chapter 3: So Not Cool

Bonded

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><p>Chapter Three: So Not Cool<p>

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><p><em>I carry your heart inside my heart. You are my soul mate. I will always belong to you.<em>

_Why only love with all your heart, when you can put your soul into it._

_Love is when he gives you a piece of your soul that you never knew was missing._

_I will always lean my heart as close to your soul as I can._

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><p>The time seemed to pass slowly. It dragged on, stretching out for an eternity. There was nothing to do. Missions? He couldn't go on any; his mind thought of <em>nothing but Gray<em>. Go home? Possibly. Sit by the riverside a while? Another possibility. Go chase down Gray? A definite _no_. Go to Gray's apartment while he's gone? Another big no…or a possible yes. He'd have to think on that one.

Natsu almost took Gajeel's advice about going home, but decided against it the moment his stomach gave a growl. Reaching into his pocket, he found he still had some money. Maybe he could go buy something to eat? That sounded nice; he hadn't eaten much in the past few days and he had a feeling it was connected to the fact he refused to be near his soul mate. Gajeel had been right, denying instincts when it came to a mate could be pretty dangerous.

A plate of steaming food was placed before him and he looked up to see the smiling face of Mira. He gave a look of confusion as his focus went from the mage to the plate of food and back to the mage. "I figured you'd be hungry since you haven't eaten much lately," she chirped. "So eat up!"

"W-Wow… Thanks, Mira!" The white-haired mage gave a nod and headed back to the bar as Natsu tucked into the food. "This is delicious~!" He gave a bright grin. As he took another bite, he realized his mind was finally focused on something else other than Gray. Food could do that to him, though. He did, after all, usually have a big only thing that could make his meal better is if he had some spare fire to eat with it. He gave a shrug. At least he–

Something in his mind snapped, and he dropped the fork in his hand onto the glass plate; catching the attention of the other dragon slayer. Natsu slowly stood, his eyes slightly wide as he tried to place this feeling. He didn't like it _at all_. A sudden mild stabbing pain appeared in his side and his hand slowly reached up to rest against it. _'Wh-What is this…?'_ And then it hit him.

Gray was in trouble.

"What are you doing?" Gajeel growled loudly, catching Natsu's attention. "_Go!_" And Natsu didn't waste another second. He was out the door before anyone could question him. Fear mixed with dread plagued and constricted his mind, and he could feel his heartbeat quicken. Gray was in trouble. Gray was in trouble. Gray was in _serious_ trouble. He distantly remembered a time when Igneel told him that dragons can sense when their mate is in danger.

He ran to the park where Wendy said she'd be all day and yelled out Happy's name. Turning, the blue cat was met with a nervous and worried Natsu. "Happy, we have to go! _Now!_" Happy didn't dare stop and ask why, he instantly flew over to his friend's side and picked the pinkette up. He quickly turned to face Wendy. "Follow me," he said before turning back to his cat. "Full speed, Happy!" The blue cat gave a nod, following Natsu's directions as quickly as he could. He hardly ever saw Natsu in such a mood, and wondered what could possibly be causing it this time.

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><p>"I knew I shouldn't have let him go by himself," Gajeel muttered under his breath. Looking back, he met Levy's worried and questioning gaze. She wanted answers. "About a week ago, Natsu and Gray were bonded," he started. Levy gave a small gasp at the news, and he didn't fail to see the spark of happiness that bloomed in her eyes. "But it must have been by accident. The idiot's been ignoring Gray ever since it happened."<p>

"But won't that kill him?" she asked quietly.

He gave a nod. "If he would have kept it up for another week or two, it could've been fatal."

"Wait a minute," she interrupted. "You told me that when a dragon and its soul mate first bond, they're not supposed to be away from each other for at least a month." Her eyes widened. "Especially when going on missions or into battle."

"That's right."

"So then… When Natsu ran out of the guild right now, it was because…Gray got injured?"

"Gray shouldn't have gone on that mission alone in his current state of mind," the iron dragon slayer grit his teeth. "A soul mate's thoughts are so focused on their mate that they're too distracted to fight properly a lot of times." He shook his head. "I shouldn't have let him go."

"Gajeel," Levy rubbed his arm and gave a soft smile. "This is Gray we're talking about. Him and Natsu are two of the most durable mages in Fairy Tail." She gave him a soft smile. "He'll be okay. Besides, Natsu a knack for always showing up right on time."

"That's true," Gajeel replied. He took Levy's hand into his own and softly caressed the back of it with his thumb. A lot of times he thought of how lucky he was to have someone so kind and reassuring as Levy as his bonded soul mate.

And he could only hope things worked out between Natsu and Gray as perfectly as it had for him and Levy.

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><p>This was so not cool. The ice was seconds away from breaking and Gray couldn't move a damn muscle. The paralyzing poison had taken full affect and left him unable to move for the past two minutes seconds. His vision blurred in and out of focus, and he mentally gave a curse. The wound at his side throbbed but it was currently the least of his problems. He was about to die. Or was he? These men could be connected to an underground organization that dealt in mage trafficking or slave trading for all he knew.<p>

The men around him laughed and he knew why. One more hit and the ice protecting him would be shattered, gone. He'd be helpless, powerless against these men and whatever their intentions were. He wanted nothing more than to glare, to spit and hiss at them; to growl and snap and snarl like a wild beast. Nothing more than to stand up and _kick their asses_.

Then a sound reached his ears that made him want to grin. "_Get away from him!_" He'd know that voice anywhere. What surprised him, though, was how ferocious that sentence had been snarled. Happy dropped Natsu and the pinkette's fiery feet slammed into two of the mercenaries. Before any of them had to the chance to move, Natsu brought both his hands together. "Fire Dragon's Brilliant Flame!" A fiery explosion dispersed the enemies, some falling unconscious when they were thrown into trees or another mercenary. Those who were unlucky enough to stay conscious got an unusually viscous Iron Fist to the face.

When Natsu was done with the enemies, Gray couldn't help but question why the dragon slayer looked so…_frightening_. The dark glare he held in his eyes was one that Gray had never seen before, and the way he bared his fangs reminded him of a feral animal. Natsu's fingers twitched, wanting to cause the men around him more harm. Once he deemed the area safe, he turned to the cocoon of ice and the male lying within it. The familiar scent of blood reached his nose and he felt himself pale. "Gray!"

Was that worry in the pinkette's voice? Definitely. With a single hit, the ice shattered and Natsu was instantly at Gray's side; rolling the male gently onto his back and looking at the patches of ice that covered the raven's side and thigh. His eyes stayed focused at the one on the ice mage's side, though. It was a fairly nasty looking wound, one that would have to be treated immediately. His eyes then traveled up past the wound on his neck and to the male's eyes and felt his heart skip a beat at the glossy look they held. "G-Gray?"

Gray's finger barely twitched, and his eyelids moved a little. Picking up a dagger nearby, the dragon slayer sniffed the end. Poison. He gave a growl and threw the item off to the side with disgust. Then Gray was paralyzed at the moment. "Alright, hold on," he said. "Wendy should be here any moment. She'll take care of you." Gray tried to nod, but his head refused to move.

"Natsu-san!" Looking up, Natsu saw Carla lower the smaller dragon slayer down to the ground and the girl ran to Gray's side. "Can you melt the ice covering the wounds?" He gave a nod and, very carefully, heated his hands and placed them over the ice until they were reduced to puddles of water. Wendy then took over, using her magic to heal all the wounds and reverse the paralyzation of the poison.

Natsu fidgeted where he sat, his eyes never leaving Gray as Wendy continued to heal. He nearly hadn't made it in time. What kind of dragon was he if he couldn't even protect his soul mate? If Gray died… Natsu didn't even want to think about that happening. "Your side is going to be sore for a while and you should take it easy for the next few days, but otherwise you should be fine," Wendy smiled. Gray gave a smile and nodded.

"Thank you, Wendy."

"And, Wendy?" She turned to face Natsu who now held an exhausted Happy in his arms. "Can you take Happy back with you? He used up a lot of magic flying me here." Happy had conked out soon after he dropped Natsu off and the pinkette guessed the blue cat had done a lot of running around with Wendy and Carla earlier for him to be so tired. Wendy gave a soft smile and nodded, taking the cat gently into her arms as Carla picked her up and they took to the air once more.

Realizing it was just him and Gray alone now, the pinkette cast a glance at the mage. He hadn't been this close to Gray for the past week, and his inner dragon was pleased to be next to its soul mate. "Jeez, you're so lame," he said, trying to act casual but to his own ears he could tell it sounded forced. "Letting a group of guys get the best of you like that."

Natsu's thought process immediately stopped at that. Why _had_ that group of guys been such trouble for Gray? Ever since he got the Devil Slayer magic from Silver, he'd been getting away from every battle almost scot-free. Looking down at Gray's arm, he realized the tattoo wasn't showing. _'Why hadn't Gray used his devil slayer ice? He woulda been able to freeze every single dagger and enemy in the vicinity. The battle would have been over in under a minute.'_

"How'd you find me?" Natsu started at the question, and his eyes connected with Gray's dark midnight blue eyes. Those eyes narrowed in suspicion and anger. "You came from the west, straight from Fairy Tail, but my mission had me taking a train to a town in the north east. I decided to take this route because I haven't walked it in a long while."

His eyes narrowed more.

"So how did you know I was here?"

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><p><strong>I fail at writing Happy and Wendy. Fail. Sorry this chapter's shorter than the first two. I'll try to make it up in the fourth chapter. The next chapter is all about bonding and soul mates, so there'll be a lot more info about it. And thank you so much for all the reviews guys! You have officially made my year so far! :D I have yet to write the fourth chapter so it may take two-seven days. Sorry! I'll post it as soon as it's written though. :D<strong>

**And about Gray's tattoo... It disappeared after they beat Mard Geer. So does that mean the power's gone, or the tattoo only comes when he uses the power? It confused me. And can he demonize himself whenever he wants? I hope Hiro explains it in an upcoming chapter. You know, after Natsu's done going on a rampage about Igneel and all that. XD**

_~»roo the ice elemental psycho«_


	4. Chapter 4: Well, That's Unexpected

Bonded

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><p>Chapter Three: Well…That's Unexpected<p>

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><p><em>I carry your heart inside my heart. You are my soul mate. I will always belong to you.<em>

_Why only love with all your heart, when you can put your soul into it._

_Love is when he gives you a piece of your soul that you never knew was missing._

_I always lean my heart as close to your soul as I can._

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><p>"I…" Natsu was at a loss of words. He was going to tell Gray the truth the moment he reached the guild, but being confronted about it <em>by<em> Gray made him hesitate. He tried to mentally prepare himself for the rejection that would most likely follow after he finished his explanation, but he knew no matter how much he tried to prepare himself his heart would still throb and shake in pain at it.

Being rejected by a mate, and a _bonded_ one no less… Yeah, that was gonna extremely painful.

"What did you do to me?" The soft question pulled Natsu out of his thoughts once more, and he glanced back down at Gray. Anger and confusion filled those beautiful and familiar blue eyes. "For the past seven days, I haven't been able to get you out of my mind." Gray grit his teeth, and his hands curled into fists. "It's like I'm not even in control of my own thoughts! Today, it even caused me to forget how to properly _fight!_ What was I thinking, taking on those guys without using my devil slayer magic? I don't understand!" His glaring eyes landed on Natsu, and the pinkette gave a shiver at the look. "_What did you do to me?_"

"I-I accidentally bonded with you," Natsu quickly replied.

Gray...had not expected that answer. He was caught off guard for a moment before he let out a confused, "...What?"

"How do I find a way to explain this?" The pinkette gave a small hum. "Dragons mate for life. Their other half, their soul mate, completes them. And to claim their destined soul mate, they bond through an exchanging of blood." The dragon slayer fidgeted where he sat, unable to look Gray in the eyes as he said his next sentences. "Last week, when we accidentally kissed, I discovered, through your blood, that you're my soul mate. A-And we accidentally exchanged blood in that moment, meaning we're bonded soul mates now."

A silence fell between the two of them, and Natsu's hands were curled into fists so tight he was sure the skin on his palms was going to break under the pressure. He could hear Gray's heart begin to accelerate, hear his every swallow, hear every intake of breath. It would probably be the last time he'd be allowed so close to the ice mage after this moment. It would be painful, having to stay away from his mate, but he could deal with it. As long as Gray was happy, he could deal with any amount of pain.

"…You didn't tell me how you knew I was here."

"I… A dragon can sense where their mate is. I just simply followed that sense and it led me here." Another silence fell between them and Natsu wasn't sure if he could take it anymore. This wasn't a comfortable silence, it was a choking one. He felt as if he couldn't breath. He had to leave.

Gray furrowed his brows as he thought over the words that were just spoken. Bonded? Well…that was unexpected. "So, by dragon laws, we're pretty much…married?"

"Y-Yeah. I'm sorry," Natsu mumbled. "I didn't mean for this to happen. I know you don't like me in that way, so it must be pretty weird to suddenly find out your married to your rival, huh?"

The raven frowned. That sentence bothered him more than it should have. Was it because he was already bonded to Natsu? Or was it simply human nature to frown when you hear your crush claim you don't love them? Possibly a mixture of both? Either way, it bothered him. "Whoever said I didn't like you?"

"Well, you know, you–"

"Get over here," Gray growled in an almost possessive tone, sending shivers down Natsu's back once more. Reaching out, Gray grabbed the precious scarf Natsu treasured and pulled hard; yanking the pinkette down until their lips crashed in a fiery and unexpected kiss. Natsu's eyes widened at the sudden action, and he felt his inner dragon go absolutely _wild_ with pleasure. This is what he'd been needing for the past seven days; to be close with his soul mate.

To be close to Gray.

Still, a little _warning_ would have been nice. Their teeth had almost clashed, and _that_ would have been painful.

He pulled away, breathless, and stared down at Gray with a grin. "So I'm gonna go out on a limb here and say you're okay with the whole bonding thing."

"Damn right I am," Gray grinned back. "Though, you're going to have to tell me everything you know about bonded dragons. And, really, this would have been nice to know before I went on this mission. Knuckle head." It was just as his father had taught him: lack of information can get you killed in certain situations.

Natsu's grin melted into a sheepish smile. "Then can I lay beside you?"

"Do couples really need to ask that?" The pinkette immediately fell to the ground, scooting over to be as close to Gray as he possibly could. Gray put his arm around Natsu's shoulders and let him rest his head against his bicep. The two laid in silence for a moment, looking at the trees and sky. Gray gave a smile; now that he was next to Natsu, his thoughts had returned to normal, and he no longer constantly thought about the pinkette on a near subconscious level. He could look at the sky and think about nothing _but_ the sky. He felt something inside himself calm, as if there'd been a raging storm within his mind and it finally downgraded to a simple breeze. Was this also the work of bonding? "You know, maybe explaining bonding and all that _here_ isn't such the brightest idea."

"Huh? Why not?"

"Well, I don't know if you remember or not, but…we're still kinda surrounded by unconscious mercenaries."

"Oh yeah. But I kinda don't want to move from here, so…"

"Idiot, we're gonna be side by side the whole way to Fairy Tail." Slowly getting to his feet, Gray gave a grunt at the phantom pain in his side. Natsu cast a worried glance before getting to his feet as well, instinctively reaching out to grab the raven's hand. Gray felt a little awkward at first, holding hands with Natsu was something he'd never thought he'd do. But as the awkwardness faded, he found he rather liked it. It was a way of saying _I'm yours, and I'll always be here for you._ "Who would have thought we were destined to be soul mates," Gray quietly mused, giving a smile.

Natsu chuckled. "I know. The guild is gonna be shocked to see us walk in hand in hand. But anyway, I'll try to tell you as much as I can about bonding. Gajeel knows a little more than I do, so we'll have to ask him when we get to the guild. So let's see… Well, for one, I can tell when you're in danger."

"Is that why you came looking for me?"

"Yeah. I knew you'd been injured, so I got to you as fast as I could. Because… Well, when a dragon's mate dies, the dragon dies, too." Gray's eyes widened and he came to a halt, looking over at Natsu with a new seriousness.

"If I die, you die, too?"

"Yeah. Igneel told me that. The dragon dies quickly of heartbreak, or slowly of depression. He said it's almost unheard of for a dragon to live after it's mate dies."

"That's…sad," Gray said, frowning. But he'd heard about that happening with humans, too. He once heard the story that an old man died in his sleep after sixty years of marriage to faithful wife. She died two days later though she'd been in a healthy condition. And it wasn't unheard of for a partner to die of depression when their loved one passed on. They continued to walk. "What else do you know?"

"That I might be a liiitle possessive over you," Natsu added. "I wanted to kill Juvia a few times in the past few days because she got too close to you."

"That doesn't surprise me," Gray deadpanned. It wasn't a secret dragons protected what they owned and loved. _'I guess that's why Natsu looked so frightening when he took out the mercenaries. He was protecting an injured soul mate.'_ He gave a mental sigh. As nice as it was to be in a 'relationship' with Natsu, he was going to have to remember all of the traits a bonded dragon has.

"I heard some dragons gained telepathy with their mates, but I don't know if that'll happen to us or not."

"You mean there are traits that can come at a later time?"

"Yeah. It depends on how strong the bond is. There's a lot I don't know, though. Igneel kinda…left…before he could tell me…" The thought of Igneel made Natsu's heart throb, and he bit his lip as he tried to suppress the thoughts of his foster father's death. Still, tears pooled in his eyes and he wiped at them harshly.

"Hey, it's alright to cry," Gray quietly comforted, squeezing Natsu's hand.

Natsu shook his head. "No. I won't cry," he said, mostly to himself. He blinked a few times and gave one sniffle before letting out a deep breath. The urge to cry was still there, but not nearly as strong as it'd been. The raven cast a worried glance at the pinkette. He didn't know what Natsu did for the five weeks they both mourned for their lost fathers. And then another thought hit him: did Natsu even have a place _to_ mourn?

During the first week Gray had separated himself from the guild, he found a cliff people hardly ever came by and, using his devil slayer magic, created a monument of the people he cared for most in his life that would never melt. His mother and father were at the bottom; holding each other in a loving embrace. Then, in the middle, was Ultear smiling. Around her shoulder was an arm holding her close. That arm belonged to Ur, who was standing beside and a little above Ultear. Roses surrounded the two ice-make mages. The monument was about seven feet tall and two feet wide, and Gray visited it at least once a week now.

During his seclusion, it was where he spent most of his time. Where had Natsu spent his time? He wanted to ask, but decided it could wait. They could talk about Igneel and mourning later. To put his mind on a more positive subject, he gave a light hum. "When I get to the guild, I'm having a shaved ice." Just the thought of the delicious taste made his mouth water, and he suddenly wished he'd taken the train instead of walking. He would have been almost to the guild by now.

Natsu made a face. "I think I'm going to have some hot soup. My throat's been bothering me a little lately, it'll help with the itchiness." In return, Gray made made a face. Their taste in food were polar opposites of each other.

"So wait. Does that mean I feel when you're hurt as well?"

"Yeah, I think so. I think we might have some shared empathic abilities as well, but I'm not quite sure on it. Like I said, we'll ask Gajeel later."

"Alright."

"And Gray?"

"Hm?"

"Put your pants back on. You damn stripper."

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><p><strong>I lied! …It took eight days. I'm sorry. This was kinda short, too. Sorry about that. I hope this chapter was okay. I know Gray kind of took the news…easily. There is a reason for it! And it shall be explained! In either the next chapter or the one after. Not sure just yet. Again, it'll probably take a week for the next chapter to come out starting Sunday. FriSat I'm always busy.**

**Also, there's a poll on my page. Maybe check it out if you have an extra min?**

**You guys are killing me with reviews! Thank you so much! I wish I could give each of you a giant hug! Cyber cookies for everyone! :D**

_~»roo the ice elemental psycho«_


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